Understand awe’s physical dimension

Regularly experienced awe is associated with lower inflammatory markers — which is worth understanding even if the mechanism is not fully settled.

Why it works

Keltner and colleagues found an inverse relationship between reported awe and cytokine levels associated with inflammation. The proposed pathway involves reduced stress arousal: awe calms the self-focused, threat-monitoring circuitry that, when chronically active, sustains low-grade inflammation. Whether this is a direct effect of awe, a proxy for the lower chronic stress of people who experience more awe, or both, is still being worked out.

How to do it

1. Treat regular awe exposure as a component of a broad stress-management practice, not a medical treatment.
2. Aim for at least one genuine awe encounter per week as part of a lifestyle that includes exercise, sleep, and social connection.
3. Track your overall stress level alongside awe frequency to see whether the relationship holds for you personally.

Evidence

Stellar and colleagues found that positive emotions, particularly awe, were associated with lower interleukin-6 levels in two independent samples. (observational)

This is observational; the causal direction is not established, and interleukin-6 is one marker among many. This is preliminary evidence for a plausible pathway, not grounds to use awe as medical treatment.

Sources

• Stellar et al. (2015), positive affect and markers of inflammation, Emotion

Common mistake

Overstating this finding as proof that awe is therapeutic for inflammatory conditions. The evidence warrants taking awe seriously as part of a healthy life; it does not warrant replacing medical care.